"99% of babies weaned before 6 months"? is this true?

[HeidiHole]

My health visitor has just booked to come in three weeks time for my DS's 12 week check. (so he's currently 9 weeks)

She said "and I"ll be talking to you about weaning" I expressed surprise as I said that I thought babies weren't weaned until 6 months. She said that the guidelines are 6 months but "research shows that only 1% of mothers wait until then so if people may wean from 4 months onwards they at least like us to have the knowledge and do's and donts from 3 months ready for when baby hits 4 months"

I said oh Ok... but seeing as there is a history of IBD in my family (including me) and its even more recommended to wait until 6 months if thats the case, we'd definitely not be weaning before then.

She smiled and said well only 1% get to 6 months because mothers normally have this really powerful urge where they just KNOW that baby is ready and then they start.

So tell me, am I really that unlikely to "get to" 6 months? I thought it was black and white! What can possibly happen before then that 99% chance will alter that? Enlighten me!

I can only think of one reason and that is "baby seems hungry" but if he seems hungry I'd bet that more calorie rich milk (he's formula fed) is going to fill him more than half a pureed carrot! So that doesn't seem like a compelling reason to start early???

I waited till 6 months both times. I think people talk a load of bollocks about solids. Don't get the rush personally, it's a pain!

However I have put babies to sleep on their front.

I waited until both of mine were 24-26 weeks, as Mrs HerculePoirot says the actual date for starting was more when was convenient at around the right time.
I did blw with both of mine but iirc dd was faster to take to solids than ds who just loved to bf instead.

Oh yes, it is a messy inconvenience imo and best put off til 6m on that basis alone!

We've just started at bang on six months (26 weeks) and feel firmly in the minority. Maybe I'm just a rule follower/worrier/lazy! After 2 days, I'm really glad we waited - he's old enough to hold a spoon himself and hold finger foods which makes things a bit easier. But Lordy the mess! He's on two baths a day....

Roughly 6 months here - just did it when they seemed ready. No formula either - well DS had some at 6 months which made him sick so have avoided with DD as she shows the same intolerances.

It's easier when they're older. I don't spoon feed DD (she's nearly 8 months) and I suspect she wants more solids than I give her. She just sits with us for meals and that's it. So she's got onto three meals a day quite quickly but a "meal" could be just a few bits of something.

I waited until six months, DD was EBF then did BLW. I never have huge faith in these statistics.

DD1 was 26 weeks and hadn't had a sniff of anything earlier, totally wasn't interested. DD2 (now 28 weeks) started on a bit of fruit and veg at about 23 weeks. She definitely had a different approach to food than DD1 and was trying to grab everything within her reach from about 20 weeks. She shovels it into her mouth now like she's starving!

I started giving DS 'food' when he started grabbing for stuff other people had (which was around the 5 month mark) so in a way it was led by him

Thanks Joyful - also think starting BLW with lumpy porridge made with breastmilk wasn't the smartest move :) it made for excellent photos though!

I waited until 6mths before starting - but carried on bf until 1yr. I dont know why people are so intent on rushing into weaning tbh. But maybe I would have weaned earlier if not bf'ing to ensure good vitamins etc. Maybe thats why some choose to do it a bit early?

I waited until more or less 6 months with my DTs (1 week early just because my DH was off work that week so made it easier for me!). I don't know anyone in my current group of NCT friends who started much before 6 months. Weaning is a lot harder than breast or formula feeding so why start any earlier than necessary?

But I lost count of the number of times that I was asked by PILs when they would be having "proper food" (because of course breast milk is not proper food for a baby

I did DS at anout 4.5 months . DD1 was about 5.5 months (doing BLW and she helped herself to food at that point). DD2 was about 6.5 months (again, BLW and she wasn't at all interested before then).

I started weaning at 6 months 1 week. He was ebf till then and is still bf on demand. We did blw so needed to wait. Personally I think all the signs of readiness that they go on about can be attributed to teething and curiosity and being a baby. My son has only shown signs of frustration that he isn't eating if we are since he was weaned, before then he didn't know what was going on! Hv seem to be inconsistent to NHs protocols and each other, I have no faith in them. All the mums I know either waited till 6 months or very close unless they were stuck in a seventies baby rearing rut brought on by family know it alls.
He is thriving, following a perfect growth line starting to eat loads but still won't sleep through, not all babies do.
Deinitely investigate blw so you can avoid unnecessary baby slop.

My other personal bugbear is when people start 'because he must kept grabbing food off me, he's clearly ready!'. My babies would grab knives, power drills, bleach, anything that caught their attention & they could reach. Then, yup, they'd put it in their mouths. My baby is ready to become a sword swallower at 5 months!

Dd was weaned at 14 weeks (guidelines then were 16 weeks) but ds was only weaned after 6 months because I kept forgetting to prepare anything guidelines had then moved to 6 months.

Thank you SO much for the link(s) to the studies that have been done.

Of course... 99% aren't EBF by 6 months makes so much more sense. My health visitor just has the wrong end of the stick. I'll have to bite my tongue when she says it again.

TBH I get the definite impression that she thinks weaning should be done at 4 months.

I'm not surprised if most mums wean before 6 months where you live if the HV goes round telling them that's what's expected!

"TBH I get the definite impression that she thinks weaning should be done at 4 months."

I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

The HV we had in our old town was brilliant. But the one we had when we moved seemed to be pretty anti-BF to me.

When she visited, she asked if we had any problems to report. I said no, none. Wracking my brains for something to give her, I said well, DS is really hard to get to sleep, he'd stay up all night if he could.

Her only response to the sleeping thing was a strong suggestion to stop BFing. I suspect she disapproved of me still feeding DS at 18 months.

She didn't ask anything like - where does DS sleep / what's his bedtime routine like / how late does he eat before sleeping / what time does he get up / what's his bed like / is the light on / what are the curtains like / it is noisy where he sleeps etc.

I accept that BFing may have been a reason that DS wasn't settling (although I doubt it) - but taking into account the considerable health benefits of BFing (to DS and myself) and the WHO advice to feed till 2, it should be the last thing we try, not the first!

HVs are not BFing specialists. A lot of their advice on BFing is based on their experience and therefore anecdotal. Our society is anti-breastfeeding, and particularly against "extended" breastfeeding. So, therefore are many midwives IMO